Where your treasure is

I have heard several things from other parents as of late about how their young children (like 6-10) have discovered the different "high dollar" clothing labels and now will only wear soandso. These poor parents then fret over "Oh, how will we ever make it through the teen years when it is so expensive to have little kids."  These parents have created their own monster and will pay dearly for it later. I have tried very hard to not allow my children to be overly picky and I sure don't want them to be materialistic. The Bible tells us to lay our treasures up in heaven and where our treasure is there will our heart be also. When our treasures consist only of the latest styles, the best car, the biggest house, and ALL the latest gadgets there is no room left for God. Of course I want to be able to give my children some of the things that they want but I also want them to be appreciative of what they have. On Christmas the Lord gave me the opportunity to see first hand that the efforts I have put into my children have not been in vain. The kids know full well that this year has not been a great year financially and I honestly think they expected little to nothing in the way of presents. They never saw me bring anything home from a shopping trip (I'm very sneaky!) so they had no evidence that there would be presents at all. That did not seem to bother them in the least. The excitement was still there and we had lots and lots of discussions about what Christmas is REALLY about. They enjoyed seeing the decorations around town and even wanted to stop and explain to people why the nativity scene in their yard was not correct. They were excited to get to see their Nana, to spend a night away from home, and just have a few days of family time. On Christmas morning they woke up to one present apiece in the living room and they were so grateful. They were happy with what they got even though none of the 3 presents were even new! I was given a 10 speed bike the week before Christmas and Kenyon just happened to need a new bike. It was in perfect condition but the chain was rusted. I asked Kenyon what he thought about it and he just said "just what I wanted, all I need now is can of wd40!" I assured him I would be buying a new chain but just did not have time before Christmas to get one after I got the bike. The girls each got a Baby Alive doll that I had found on Craigslist and of course they each loved them. We then got ready for church and headed out the door. I already had the car packed with clothes, pillows and blankets for a trip to Nana's house. Church that morning was great and the kids were happy to share what they had gotten with all their friends. There was not a hint of disappointment from any of them. After church we loaded up and headed to Monty's mom's house. When we arrived, she took all three kids to her room to show them the stockings stuffed full of goodies she had prepared for them. When they came out of her room to share this unexpected treat they saw this......

 There was nothing under that tree when we walked in. It took only a few moments for them to notice that THEIR stockings were under that tree! They were in a total state of unbelief. They had no idea how their stockings made it to Nana's house. They started asking if I had mailed them or something and even "made their brain hurt" trying to figure it out.  (did I forget to mention that the pillows and blankets in the back of the SUV were not just for a overnight trip but also to cover a load of presents and stockings☺told ya I was sneaky!) They still never figured out how their stockings got to Nana's house but were pleasantly surprised that the gifts also had their names on them.
After I had been sufficiently assured that tons of gifts really was NOT the main thing about Christmas in my children's hearts, we let them open their new presents.

 Keslee really has a desire to learn to knit, crochet and sew. She got a knitting machine, a weaving loom and a friendship bracelet kit. She has plenty of projects to work on now.

 "Oh Bother." I just love Eeyore and so does Kalysa. Keslee got the matching Pooh Bear.

 Look at that smile☺ She got exactly what she has been wanting for the past year....

 Her own MP3 player loaded with her favorite songs by great singers like Brother Jayson, Kaylie, Sarah, Jessica, Hannah, and the Petricks-all of which she enjoys seeing live on any given Sunday. Kenyon and Keslee both got one last year and Kalysa has waited patiently all year to be able to enjoy her music without having to ask her sister.

 Monty got just what he wanted as well, a Dallas Cowboy trash can to go in his Dallas bathroom.

 After presents there was plenty of family time. Time to try to explain your games to Nana.

 Time to put together your new Build-a-bear.

 Even time to start on some of your crafts-like making your own head bands.
and of course............

                                         TIME TO EAT!!!

 We had a great time on Christmas day and a beautiful day the next day. Just sunny and warm enough for Kenyon to try out his new football with his dad.

Of course, no day that daddy does not have to go to work would be complete without an impromptu wrestling match!

All in all, we had a great Christmas with Monty's mom. And I got just what I wanted-a day full of surprises and smiles, and lots of family time without greed and selfishness. There is my treasure-sitting on the couch with their Nana!

When your daddy works in a warehouse....

You have a steady stream of duct tape around the house. Monty brings home all types of tape and glue quiet often and it is a little girl's dream come true. Especially when he brings pretty, colorful tape. We all know that duct tape can fix just about anything but when you add a little imagination there is no end to the possibilities!

 Keslee has been on a shoe making kick lately.

 This white tape with the pretty black flowery designs was perfect for some baby shoes.

 ......and they fit!!

 Ain't she a cutie?!?!

 If your G.I. Joe doll doesn't have any pants, the zebra striped tape works just great!

 Got a barbie that just really needs a pair of knee high boots? Black duct tape to the rescue.

 Use black and zebra striped to make an entire  outfit.

 The paint splatter tape was the girls' favorite but we were only able to get one roll-enough for one shoe and a pair of flip flops.

We had enough of the flowery tape left from the baby shoes for Keslee to make a pair for Kalysa.

After Keslee had made everyone else a gift she ran out of all the pretty tape. She asked Monty to bring her some more home and unfortunately all he could get was this halloween tape with skull designs. It was not her favorite but the ugly design didn't take away from the fun of creating one more pair of shoes.
Oh what fun with duct tape☺

Thats what I love about homeschool!

After we finished our lessons together,  I gave each kiddo instruction on some lessons to do on their own while I finally got a shower. I had to go back to the laundry room to find my socks and I noticed everyone was gone from the school area-aka the kitchen table.  I thought I better double check that things were getting done and this is what I found....

 One boy laying on the couch all cozy under a blanket with his science workbook.......

and two girls on the back porch, also under a cozy blanket, with a math test and an SRA.

I love homeschooling☺

Can you lick your elbow?

So I have been MIA in blog land but things have been moving right along here at home. Like this.....

 a typical day of homeschooling. I don't even remember what lesson we were doing when this topic came up and we had to take a "contest" break.

 We started back to school about a month ago. I still have a list of curriculum I need to buy for this year so we started by finishing up the things we did not finish last year. We had a few weeks of lessons left on the My Father's World-Rome to the Reformation. We have been working on finishing that before we start Exploration to 1850. Hopefully by the time we finish that I will have the funds to get the rest of what we need for this year which is mostly our read alouds, progeny press study guides, and some supplemental material for the girls.

Kenyon is doing a Baptist Heritage course this year that I am really pleased with. The author spoke at our church during our mission conference. We learned soooo much so I just had to buy the books. I did the course myself through the summer and Kenyon is doing it now. I now see why knowing where we come from is important for more than just cultural reasons. I may have more on this topic later if I can find the time and the words to write it out.

Keslee has still been having trouble with reading. She can read pretty good but not nearly as well as Kalysa or Kenyon when he was her age. Her writing/spelling is awful as well. She loves to write stories but I have a hard time reading them when she is finished. She has gotten into the habit of spelling words just the way they sound (which I know is allowed in many public schools now) and most of her words had no vowels. I have started Alphabet Island with her this year and I.AM.SO.IMPRESSED! We went ahead and started in level one, even though she knows all the sounds of the letters and can read and write 3 letter words with no problem and will be able to go through several of the lessons really quickly, but the beginning had a very detailed story about the vowels and how they "act". It has already opened up a whole new world for her. She has always been my child that need to experience things with ALL her senses in order to fully "get" it and Alphabet Island does that for her. Every letter is a different character (boy or girl) and they all have things they can or can not do. The story is phenomenal. The authors are obviously geniuses to come up with an on going story line detailing the way each "person" "acts". After just 10 lessons, I can read her stories. Her spelling has improved 100%! She is just as excited as I am because she doesn't have to struggle with it. It is finally making sense to her-YAY!!!!

We are still using Math U See and the girls are doing SRAs for reading comprehension. The girls are also starting to learn the recorder. That will help them get the basics down on reading music and then I hope to teach them both piano lessons. My mother said we can have her piano we just have not had a way to move it over here yet. I took piano lessons for about a year and I played the clarinet for 8 years so I should be able to get them started off with piano before we have to search out a "real" teacher.

Well, that is an overview of what is up here and I guess will work just fine as my introduction back into blogging.☺ Thanks for stopping by!

You might be a homeschooler if...

I have read tons of "you might be a homeschooler if..." posts in bloggy world and I can relate to almost every single one of them. Some of them are pretty funny and all of them show the uniqueness of homschoolers. Instead of posting the same ones I've read before, I decided to share some examples from my own home. Feel free to share your own in the comments.

You might be a homeschooler if....

The kids ask "did you order school books?" anytime UPS is in the neighborhood.

Your kids say "the only Lady Gaga song I have ever heard was when preacher read some of the lyrics to us at church." and they are not afraid to explain to others why they shouldn't listen to it.

when your kids insist on getting the "Antony and Cleopatra" dvd even though dad is trying to convince them to get a cartoon movie.

you have ever heard "we haven't done school in awhile, can we please do some today?" in July.

you have to beat your kids to answer the door during school because they don't know the rest of the block is on spring break and you want to keep it that way.

you hear your kids say "You've never heard of the Barbary wars?!?" as they then explain them to their public school friends.

your kids negotiation techniques sound like "instead of cleaning my room right now can I just do some more math?"

when asked what grade he's in your son answers "7th-ish."

if you leave your computer and your son comes along and corrects the spelling in the blog post you were writing.

when you tell the kids to get the living room cleaned up and they immediately ask "Why? Who's coming over?"

when your doing school while others are out for a snow day but playing outside in the rain while everyone else is at school.

your kids think you've gone crazy if you say "we are only getting one book apiece at the library today."

your 8 year old can't tie her own shoe yet but can tell you who Julius Caesar was, recognizes a Roman Soldier in pictures, draw every phase of the moon, can explain why we can't live on Mercury or Venus, find the Mediterranean sea on every map, knows what country is shaped like a boot, etc. etc.....

It is no doubt that just because we homeschool makes us different from most and I love that. Just because our life is different makes it easy for the kids to go against the grain. They don't have to think as hard about not doing something just because everyone else does it. They don't worry about not being like everyone else. That is their whole life-constantly learning to stand alone.

WHEW!

What a weekend! We were busy, busy, busy! Just a quick rundown of what all we had to do.

Friday-make a modest swimsuit for Gabby before camp. spend the day doing laundry. get the girls clothes ready to pack for church camp on Monday. Family fun night at church from 6-midnight. Our theme verse for the year is "As Newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby." My preacher is helping us all to focus on growing in every aspect of the word; grow in grace, grow in knowledge, grow in numbers, and grow as a (church) family. One way we grow together as a family is to spend time together, laugh together, get to know each other, work together and play together. Every other month we have a family fun night at church where we get to do all of those things. We have food, devotions, games and movies. The movie we had this month was "As with Roses The true untold story of Obadiah Holmes". Unfortunately I was trapped in a Monopoly tournament (that I did NOT win but I DID beat D.J. in one round so my goal was accomplished!!)and missed the movie so I will definitely have to borrow it from the church library.

Saturday-got up early to sell candy bars for the last camp fundraiser. Kenyon had a birthday party for a fellow scout right after the fund raiser. Monty took the kids out to sell a few more candy bars that we have left, continue laundry, finalize my children's church lesson and pack the girls suitcase.

Sunday-teach children's church, come home, cook lunch and take a nap, go back to church, birthday supper fellowship after service. Only I did not get to enjoy the fellowship.

Right at the end of the service our cell phone went off 3 times(it was on vibrate in Monty's pocket). Since someone was calling non-stop, Monty checked and it was Greg. Greg is Mamie's husband and Mamie is my good friend with a baby due in a few weeks. I slipped out and called him back (Mamie had not been feeling well so they stayed home from church). I called him back and he told me that Mamie's water had just broke. We made plans for them to come by the church and drop their other 3 kids off and pick me up. Monty agreed to take her kids home and Jacinta went to babysit. It took about 25 minutes for them to get to the church and then we had about 30 minute drive to the hospital. Mamie's contractions were coming about every 3 minutes so I was able to help "coach" her through them as Greg drove (80 mph down the turnpike!) When we got there they checked her and she was already dilated to a 7 so they moved her directly to her own room and started the IV. As soon as that was finished the nurse checked her again and she was fully dilated. They did all they could to get her not to push since the doctor was not there but the baby was not waiting. She was crowning without any pushes.

One push later Shaelynne Grace was born-less than 2 hours after labor started, less than 30 minutes after we got to the hospital with no doctor present. It was the first time I have personally witnessed a birth and it was AMAZING! I stayed with them until around 12:30am and drove their vehicle home to throw the rest of the girl's stuff in their suitcase.

Monday morning I finished the paper route and then woke the girls up about 7:30am so I could fix their hair. I like to put Keslee's hair in lots of braids so she wont have to worry about it at camp. With hair as thick and as curly as hers you either know how to fix it or you don't so it is best if I just make sure nobody has to worry about it. We then loaded the car, went and picked up Mamie's 3 kids and headed to the hospital. They all got to meet their new baby sister. We passed the baby around for a little while then loaded back up and headed to the church. Keslee, Kalysa and Gabby (Mamie's daughter) and the rest of the group headed out for Church camp. When Kenyon and I got home around 3pm, it was definitely nap time!!!

All in the day of a Little Mama

Keslee has always been our little mama. She became a big sister when she was just 9 months old. I am pretty sure when we brought her baby sister home Keslee truly believed we had brought her a special play toy. She loved that baby girl and she still does. Since Kalysa is getting a little too big for Kes to carry around (although she still trys sometimes) Keslee has had to look elsewhere. Of course she has tons of baby dolls and plays with them daily but for a true little momma there is a desire for a living breathing baby. That is where Cash comes in...

See that look in his eye? He was begging and pleading for me to rescue him from the diaper change but was disappointed that all I did was snap the photo.


Of course all babies need a little bonnet. ☺

Ain't he cute?!?

I did not get a picture of it but Keslee had a blanket tied around her shoulder to make a baby sling and carried him around in that. Cash allowed Keslee about one hour of baby play time before he had enough. He had been hiding from her ever since but as soon as he forgets and she gets ahold of him again you can bet he will be dressed up again.

Just what I needed

Oh yeah! It really was just what I needed!! I know I am a slacker when it comes to blogging so this actually happened about 2 weeks ago. It still feels like it was just yesterday but at the same time it seems so long ago that I could wonder if it really happened at all or was it all a dream. Luckily I have a few pictures to prove to myself that it was not a dream. Yes, it really did happen......


Amy (my bestest friend on earth) REALLY was here and we spent 2 days in a motel in OKC. Just the 2 of us-no kids-no husbands-just 2 old friends (not old as in old but old as in being friends a long time!!). It is hard to believe that it had been a year since we had actually seen each other. She came last year for the homeschool convention and we got to spend a day together. This year we both did lots of pre-planning. Our husbands both agreed to keeping the kiddos and we were able to stay in a motel and hang out for 2 and 1/2 days. I love my kids and I love my husband but 2 nights away with my best friend and lots of (grown-up) girl talk really was the refresher that I needed!!


So how did we spend our time away??? Well, just like the old days! We stayed up talking ALL night long the first night! Amy and I can (and do) talk about anything and everything under the sun. Even though we stayed up until about 6 am, we still got up around 9am to prepare for the homeschool convention. Of course it was great! We got to talk with John Erickson, author of the Hank the Cowdog series and listen to him read. That brought back some memories. John is from Perryton Texas which is where I grew up and Amy grew up just 15 minutes from there. It is just a little farm town in the Texas panhandle miles away from anything where everyone pretty much knows everyone else. It was kinda funny to see a line full of people waiting for his autograph. I mean, it was just John Erickson. I knew his son growing up (his other kids are a lot younger than me). He read Hank books to us at school assemblies before they were ever even published. Ha! I guess I know a celebrity.
On our walk back to the car we saw a momma bird in a nest on a very low tree branch. When we got close she flew away and Amy said it looked like she may have been feeding babies. The branch was just low enough for me stretch and hold my camera right over the edge of the nest and snap this...

They don't even have feathers yet-so cool!
After we spent the day shopping for curriculum we did some shopping at Madel's Christian book store. Amy had never been there and was like a kid in a candy store. It is almost like a whole other homeschool convention without all the separate vendors. I had mentioned to Amy that me mom had recently told me that she has never had a Bible with her name on it and she has only had a new Bible once when she was young. All the other Bibles she has have been handed down from someone.
Since mom was doing the paper route without my help so I could have 2 free days, Amy bought her a Bible to say thanks. It is blue (her favorite color) and brown leather WITH her name embossed on the cover. Mom and Jacinta got to go to the convention with us the second day so Amy gave her the gift that morning. She cried. I knew she would. ☺We spent another day shopping and listened to a few speakers. Todd Wilson gave an awesome talk about what you can do to make sure your kids hate you, homeschool, and everything you stand for (or not if you do the opposite!). He referred to what happened with King David and his son Absalom in the book of 2nd Samuel. It was very convicting and I tell ya what, I have been doing a lot more smiling and waving at my kids lately!!!
After the 2 convention days, Amy's kids are all set for a new school year. I know what all we need for next year and was able to solidify some curriculum decisions but was only able to purchase about 1/2 that day. I am praying God will provide a way for us to order the rest throughout the summer since the money I had set back had to be used for an earlier emergency. I have faith God will provide what we need even if it doesn't happen to be everything I think we need.
Although the friend time was great, we got a lot done and had a blast, it had to come to an end. Amy loaded up her truck and headed back to Texas. We are both back in our own homes, surrounded by kids and books and school projects and settling for the occasional phone call with each other ..until next year!

OH! I hope it's true!!!

I sing. I sing all the time. Now don't get the wrong impression. I don't sing GOOD but I am always singing. I love to sing. If I am not singing hymns I will just make up a song about whatever I am doing or something I am telling the kids. I can pretty much turn anything into a song and if makes for a lot of laughs around here.
My son, on the other hand, does NOT sing. He will not sing when I try to get all the kids to sing with me. He rarely will sing along with the hymns at church. He reads the words and maybe hums-as long as nobody hears him- but he will not sing.
Now Kenyon pretends that it drives him crazy but I am convinced that he really does love that I am always singing around the house. I catch him listening. I see him smile his little smile to himself. I notice his little head bob to the beat as I sing. It is really only when he notices me notice him that he has to try to save face and act like his momma drives him crazy.
And that is why I have so much fun with it. One day, as he complained about my constant singing throughout the day he asked "WHY? WHY? WHY?DO YOU ALLLWWWAAAYYYS HAVE TO SING???" To which I replied "well son, it is like this, I just sing because ♪♫♪In my heart there rings a melody, there rings a melody with Heaven's harmony♫♪♫ which sends him into fits of laughter and fake screams of torment.
Saturday was just like any other day only amplified some as we contemplated the fact that our Savior died for us and the ROSE again. I had a lot of fun with my son. It went kinda like this....
Kenyon. Kenyon. Kenyon.
What mom?
♪Are you washed in the blood♫
aaaaawwwww-not again!
Kenyon, Kenyon, Kenyon
no answer-to soon
after a while...Kenyon Kenyon Kenyon
What?
♫♪are your garments spotless are they white as snow♫♪
Which brought just the response I had expected
MOM, YOU ARE ALWAYS SINGING. YOU HAVE CRAMMED SO MANY SONGS IN MY HEAD I WILL NEEEVVVVERRR BE ABLE TO GET THEM OUT!!!
Thank you son! I so hope that is true and if so I have succeeded!! And I would not be the least bit surprised if he just so happens to find a wife someday that spends her days singing away. That's my goal☺

Bow Holders and Door Hangers

• This year, around Christmas time, the money around here seemed to be a little tighter than normal. Our family has stopped exchanging presents between all of the adults but we still like to get all the kids something. That means, besides my own 3, I have 6 nieces, 2 nephew, 1 little sister and 1 little brother that I still needed to get presents for. Our neighbor had made the cutest hair bow holder for my girls a year or so ago so I thought I would give them a try.

We stopped in at Hobby Lobby and found these plain wood pieces for less than $3 a piece. They also had some already painted wooden decorations for .50-$1.00. I picked up a couple of rolls of ribbon for a few dollars and a few different colors of paint for about $1 a piece. I used a pencil to draw each kids name and then started painting. I used 2 or 3 colors on each board and by mixing and matching the colors made 5 different bow holders with combinations of just 4 colors.

After the painting was done and dry, I used a black sharpie to outline each name. I didn't think I would be able to outline as well with a paint brush and the marker worked just great!

I used hot glue to attach each decoration and the ribbons. For the boys I cut a belt loop off of an old pair of pants and glued each end to the back to make a hanger. A little bit of glitter glue and a few sprays with a can of clear coat later and each boy had a name plate to hang on their door.

I used some ribbon I already had to make several bows and found some silk flowers on the clearance isle to make some flower clips to for each girl. I used the same pink ribbon with green butterflies and the word princess on it for all of the bow holders and the hangers at the top.

Here is a closer view of each one individually...

Princess Peyton, my brother's only daughter and Hunter's sister. She is a girly girl with a pink room so I knew this would suit her just fine.

Sheyenne, my other brother's youngest daughter. She loves Tinkerbell so I thought the green and yellow would be a good fit for her.

Alyssa, my sister's oldest daughter. Alyssa is somewhat of a Tom boy who loves to play soccer. I thought the green was not too girly but the purple and glitter made it just feminin enough.

Aliyah, my sister's middle daughter. Aliyah is much more girly than Alyssa. I didn't want it to be just like Peyton's so I added yellow and reversed the pink and green.

And then there is Ashlynne, my sister's youngest daughter and Ashton's twin sister. Three year old Ashlynne can always be found wearing a pair of her plastic princess dress up shoes so I knew this little castle would be fitting.

My brother's oldest daughter and Sheyenne's older sister Brooksie is 13 years old and a little past the bow wearing stage so I made her a jewelry box. This plain wood box was also about $3. Instead of making a flower hair clip I just glued one of the flowers to the front of the box. I actually made one of these for Jacinta as well but obviously did not get a picture of it.

I was so happy with how well they all turned out and all the kids seemed pretty happy about them on Christmas day. I love giving homemade gifts. I also love the fact that I was able to give 9 people very special gifts for about $50 total!

Yep, He is full of it!

Last week, in our science studies about the lungs we conducted a little experiment to determine the amount of air the lungs could hold. We started out with a two liter bottle filled with water. We turned the bottle over in a sink full of water and then removed the lid keeping the bottle full. Then we inserted a tube in the bottle, took a DEEP breath and blew.
The air in your lungs replaces the water in the bottle. When each participant had blown all they could blow with only one breath I replaced the lid while the bottle was still under water keeping what was left in the bottle.

Keslee was almost able to empty the entire two liter!

Kalysa took her turn and amazed us all when she emptied well over 1/2 of the bottle. Her lung capacity was just a little less than Keslee's.

Remember this is the same girl that started out on this earth at only 2 pounds 4 ounces and spent the first 5 weeks of her life on a ventilator. That is a scenario that often means asthma or other lung problems for a life time but we have none of that here. Praise the Lord!!

When Kenyon took his turn and blew every bit of water out of the two liter bottle like it was nothing and still had air to spare, we moved to an empty gallon milk jug for his test. After one try with the gallon jug, what we had known all along was confirmed...

MY SON IS FULL OF HOT AIR!! ☺hehehe!! ☺ He almost emptied out the entire gallon! I am sure he would have if we would have kept trying (like he wanted to) but we had to move on. Knowing my son, this is something he will be working on in his spare time until he DOES empty the gallon jug and who knows what size bottle he will want to tackle after that.

Ya know-lung capacity is a big one in the bragging rights of young boys.